The Medical Detectives
by paris4
Summary: FINALLY UPDATED I am very slack, apologies to everyone who has been waiting! F, J and N investigate a saboteur- lots of action and adventure and a little romance! Please R and R!
1. Chapter One

Frank Hardy walked back to his car across the hot sand, a towel wrapped around his waist. He and his younger brother Joe were taking a well- deserved vacation in California for a couple of weeks and they had decided to spend the day checking out some of the local beaches.  
  
Frank turned to Joe and gave him a grin. "I'm glad we decided to come here today, it's nice just to unwind and take some time off for once."  
  
Joe nodded, as he pushed his sunglasses up onto his head. "I know, we've been here for three days already and we haven't stumbled across a case yet!" he joked.  
  
"What do you want to do now?" Frank inquired. "It's only 2:00pm, we've got the whole afternoon left."  
  
"I guess we could get something to eat, are you hungry?"  
  
"Yeah, I am actually. Why don't we try that place that I pointed out on the way over?" Frank replied, referring to the small café just down from where they were parked.  
  
"Sure, do you want to walk, or should we drive?" Joe asked.  
  
"Lets walk, the weather is great at the moment, and besides, it's not that far." Frank said. Joe shook his head in agreement.  
  
The two Hardy's were almost there when a woman's scream filled the air, and a man burst out from a nearby shop and began running in Frank and Joe's direction.  
  
"Help!" The woman screamed again. "He's snatched my bag!"  
  
Almost everyone that had been in the vicinity had stopped what they were doing, and were just looking on in shock. Joe started to run towards the man, with Frank following right behind him.  
  
"Come on, we can get this guy!" Joe yelled over his shoulder as he neared the man. Joe was pulling away from Frank and he poured on the speed, narrowing the gap further. The man looked up, and noticed Frank and Joe chasing him, and he ducked to the side, weaving through the crowds.  
  
"He's going left Joe!" Frank cried out, still in hot pursuit of the man.  
  
Joe could see that the man hadn't been expecting anyone to give chase, and he was clearly tiring. Joe drew closer and he grabbed the assailant by the collar of his shirt, while Frank pulled the handbag from his grasp. The crowd of people that had gathered cheered, and the man used this distraction to his advantage, twisting away from Joe and shoving him violently towards the gutter. Joe let go, surprised by the sudden attack, and stumbled awkwardly over the curb and fell heavily to the ground.  
  
As soon as he saw his brother fall, Frank knew it wasn't good. Frank forgot about the assailant, and ran over to his brother, sighing as the man sprinted down the street and into a nearby car.  
  
"Joe, are you ok?" he asked with concern. The same crown now had all their attention focused on Joe.  
  
Joe shook his head as he tried to sit up. "I don't think so," he answered truthfully. "I think I've broken my ankle, I heard it snap when I fell."  
  
Frank crouched next to his brother, and took a close look at his ankle. He could see that it was starting to swell, but he tried to remain calm for Joe's sake. "Don't move," he ordered. "I'm calling the ambulance." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing.  
  
"No, don't!" Joe protested. "I think it would be better if you just drove me to the hospital, it's faster that way."  
  
Frank thought about that, and finally agreed. It wasn't really an emergency, so an ambulance probably wasn't necessary.  
  
"Are you going to be ok while I bring the car over to get you?" Frank asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be ok," Joe replied, as he managed to pull himself up on the edge of the curb and sit up.  
  
"Ok, I'll only be five minutes." Frank started walking back towards the car, glancing over his shoulder at Joe to make sure he was in fact ok.  
  
While Joe was waiting for Frank, a woman came over to Joe and sat next to him. "I'm so sorry!" she said. "You got hurt because of me, trying to get my bag back."  
  
"Hey, it's ok," Joe said to her. "I don't regret it, I'm just glad we managed to get it back for you. Here you go," he said, as he handed it back to her. The woman accepted it gratefully.  
  
"I don't know what I would have done with out this, it has my monthly rent in it. Thank you so much!" She paused. "I'm Cassandra by the way."  
  
"Joe," he said, as he shook her hand. "The other guy that was here is my brother Frank." "It's nice to meet you, unfortunately it wasn't under better circumstances," Cassandra replied, as she glanced at his ankle. "Is it broken?"  
  
"I think so," Joe replied. "I'm going to get it checked out now."  
  
Frank pulled up beside Joe at that moment, and jumped out of the car. "How are you holding up?" he asked.  
  
"It's not too bad," Joe answered. "Oh, this is Cassandra by the way, she is the owner of the handbag."  
  
Frank shook her hand, and introduced himself. "I'm sorry to be so rude, but we really have to go now, I want to get this ankle checked out as soon as possible."  
  
Cassandra nodded. "I completely understand, and I just want to thank you both again."  
  
"No problem," Frank and Joe replied together.  
  
Frank helped Joe to the car, and closed the passenger door behind him. Cassandra waved, as the two Hardy's drove off.  
  
Frank turned to Joe in the car. "The nearest hospital is about ten minutes from here, I asked a guy on the way back to the car."  
  
Joe acknowledged this, his teeth clenched. "Are you ok?" Frank asked, alarmed.  
  
"I think the shock is starting to wear off, and I can feel it starting to throb now." Frank noticed that his brother was slightly pale in the face.  
  
Not long after, Frank pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, and helped Joe inside. He filled out some forms and gave the requested information while his brother sat in the waiting room; his ankle propped up on one of the chairs.  
  
After about an hour and a half, a nurse walked over to Frank and Joe with a wheelchair. "Sorry for the delay, we've had a few problems today." She pushed the chair over to Joe. "Slide into this for me, and I'll take you down so the doctor can examine that for you."  
  
Joe obliged, and Frank followed behind. Joe was taken down a long corridor, painted in the same generic colour that most hospitals seem to have an abundance of. The nurse pushed Joe into a room, and an hour later, Joe emerged with a doctor, his left ankle in a cast.  
  
The doctor turned to Frank. "I'm Doctor Joel Phillips, I'm the head of the accident and emergency department here at California Central. You're brother has sustained a fairly bad broken ankle, and I've decided that it would be best to keep him in here for a few days, just so we can observe things and get a handle on the pain he is experiencing. We're putting Joe in room 451 on the fourth floor, so you can wheel him up there now, and a nurse will be in shortly to prescribe something to relieve the pain you are experiencing."  
  
"Thanks for your help," Joe said to Dr. Phillips, who smiled and walked back towards the operating room.  
  
Frank pushed Joe down the corridor and headed to the elevator. "How's the pain now?" he asked.  
  
"Pretty bad," Joe admitted. "I've only ever broken a few ribs before, so this is a whole new experience."  
  
Frank located room 451 and entered with Joe. Joe was pleased to note that it was a single room. Frank helped his brother up onto the bed, and got him comfortable. "I'll go and see if I can find a nurse to get you some pain killers," he said, as he left the room. "I'll be back in a few minutes."  
  
Just after Frank had left, a nurse walked into the room. Joe noticed that she was young, and admired the way that her long brown hair trailed down her back. "Hey, my brother just went to get a nurse, that was good timing!" The nurse glanced over at him, and she smiled.  
  
"It sure was_" she began, and then her blue eyes opened widely. "Joe Hardy?!" She exclaimed.  
  
Joe's mouth fell open. Nancy Drew was standing in front of him, equally as surprised. 


	2. Chapter Two

Nancy walked over to the bed and gave Joe a hug, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "I would never have expected to run into you here in a million years."  
  
Frank walked back into the room at that moment and stopped abruptly at the doorway. His brother had been alone in the room for less than five minutes, and already he was hitting on the nurse, who didn't seem to be resisting his advances. In fact, she was embracing him back.  
  
Frank cleared his throat, and Joe looked over at him. "Looks like I didn't have to find the nurse after all, you seem to have accomplished that," he remarked jokingly.  
  
The nurse turned around to face him and she smiled at him. "Actually, I was the one that found him." She began to laugh as she saw a flash of recognition on Franks' face.  
  
"Nancy! How are you?" Frank asked, as he also gave her a hug.  
  
"I'm great thanks," she replied as she pulled away from Frank. "How are you?"  
  
"Well, I'm fine, but as you can see, Joe isn't in great shape at the moment." Frank proceeded to tell her about what had happened at the beach.  
  
Joe looked Nancy up and down, taking in her appearance. She was wearing a nurse's uniform and her reddish blonde hair had been dyed a dark shade of brown. Identification papers and a name badge that read 'Mandy' completed her disguise. "So what brings you all the way out here?" he inquired.  
  
Nancy checked her watch. "I'm actually finishing my shift here in about ten minutes, so I'll explain everything to you then. That is, if you don't mind waiting."  
  
Joe gave her a wry smile. "Does it look like I'm going to mind waiting?"  
  
Nancy gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry Joe, you know what I mean though."  
  
He nodded. "Ok, we'll talk to you in a few minutes then." Nancy waved at the two Hardy's and she left the room to report back to the head nurse.  
  
"This sounds like it is going to be interesting," Frank remarked to Joe.  
  
"Oh oh," Joe teased. "I think we can kiss goodbye to our vacation. I've seen that look on your face too many times!"  
  
"Don't pretend that you aren't the slightest bit intrigued," retorted Frank. "Hey, did you want me to go and see about those painkillers for you? I completely forgot about it in all the excitement, and I doubt Nancy is going to be able to provide them for you."  
  
Joe nodded gratefully. "The pain is not as sharp as it was initially, but it is still throbbing." He reached over and pulled a spare pillow from the shelf beside the bed and propped it up under his ankle.  
  
"Ok, I'll see what I can do," Frank answered.  
  
Several minutes later, a nurse entered with a small cup in her hand, with two tablets inside of it. A glass and a jug of water were in her other hand.  
  
She turned over to Joe and smiled sympathetically. "I'm Jenna, and I'll be your nurse while you're here. I've brought you a couple of strong painkillers, take them both with water and they should relieve the pain fairly rapidly." Before handing them to Joe, she consulted his chart to make sure they were suitable for him, and satisfied that they were, she then proceeded to give them to him.  
  
"Better safe than sorry," Joe remarked to her, and then swallowed the pills.  
  
"Yes, we've actually had to take a lot more care lately than usual, there have been a few mishaps around here lately."  
  
"Really?" Jenna nodded at Frank.  
  
"There have been a few, but I'm not really at liberty to say anything more about the matter," she replied. Frank thought that she appeared slightly flustered, as though she had said too much already. "I have to check up on some of my other patients now, I'll be back to see how you are feeling soon. Just press the buzzer beside your bed if you need help urgently." She hurried out the room.  
  
Joe watched her leave, and then focused on Frank. "That was really weird, don't you think?"  
  
"Yeah, it was. It was like she was afraid that she had said something she wasn't meant to tell us," Frank mused.  
  
"I got that impression too. I wonder what kind of 'mishaps' she was referring to?" Joe picked up the glass and finished the water remaining in there.  
  
Nancy walked back into the room then, and closed the door behind her. "Sorry about that guys, I had to check back with the head nurse so she could evaluate my performance for the day."  
  
"So what exactly are you doing here?" Frank asked, puzzled.  
  
"Well, a couple of weeks ago, my Dad was playing golf with one of the members of the board here, Mike Roberts. He told my father that the hospital had been having a few problems here lately, with a series of unusual incidents occurring here lately."  
  
"Mishaps." Frank interjected, giving Joe a meaningful look. Nancy raised an eyebrow at him, and Frank told her about their conversation with Jenna the nurse.  
  
Nancy continued on. "I guess at first they could have been considered mishaps, but now these incidents are occurring more frequently, and becoming more brazen. The board came to the conclusion that someone is deliberately causing things to go wrong here, and he asked my father to see whether I would mind going undercover here, posing as a student nurse, to try and unravel who was behind this."  
  
Joe thought about this, taking in all the information Nancy had told them. "So are there any suspects as to who is causing this havoc?"  
  
"Well, the board members mentioned to me that they suspect a woman by the name of Sue Collins. Her daughter, Lana, was a patient here, but she passed away from cancer about a month ago. The doctors did all they could for Lana, but the cancer was too advanced for any operation to be successful. Mrs. Collins refused to accept this, and she has been up here frequently since her daughter died, alleging that the doctors acted negligently and they didn't do all that they could for her daughter. She vowed that she would take action, and the board members are afraid that this incidents are what she meant by 'action'."  
  
"So what exactly has been going on here?" Frank asked.  
  
Nancy pulled out a small notebook from her purse, and flipped through. "Well, there have been quite a few different things happening, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern between them. At least, not that I can see. There has been a power blackout in one of the operating rooms whilst a patient was being operated on. An investigation of the equipment revealed that someone had jammed a wrench into the wiring, messing up the electricity conductors."  
  
"That's pretty serious," Joe remarked.  
  
Nancy shook her head grimly. "Fortunately, the back up generator was working, and nothing more serious happened. A few days after that, a diabetic patient was given the wrong food, resulting in them needing urgent medical attention. Then after that, another patient received the wrong dosage of morphine, and that almost resulted in a fatality. The patient's heart stopped, and he had to be revived on the operating table. There have been a few other things as well."  
  
"This person isn't fooling around." Frank let out a small whistle. "They obviously mean business."  
  
"Are there any other suspects other than Sue Collins?" Joe asked. "Or does she have a medical background? If she doesn't, these things don't sound like something a person without connections to the hospital could pull off."  
  
"Yes, I thought of that myself," Nancy replied. "I personally think it might be an inside job as well."  
  
"Is there anything that we can do to help?" Frank asked.  
  
Nancy hesitated while she thought. "Actually, there probably is, " she said slowly. "This could work out quite well in fact." She gestured to Joe's cast. "With Joe admitted in here, we now have two detectives inside the hospital keeping an eye out for anything strange. You'll be in here quite a lot too Frank, so you can also help us keep an eye out, and at the same time, we can work on developing a list of potential suspects that work at the hospital."  
  
"Sounds good," Joe replied. A second later, a loud and wavering voice came over the PA system.  
  
"Can all available doctors and nurses please report to the front desk immediately to undertake emergency procedures!"  
  
~Thanks for the reviews readers! Please keep them coming - they make my day! Sorry if anyone was confused about Nancy's hair colour in the first chapter, that was intentional as you would have seen from this chapter.~ 


	3. Chapter Three

"What's going on?" asked Frank, as a team of doctors and nurses rushed past the room Joe was staying in.  
  
Nancy stood up. "I better go with them and just check it out, other wise people will get suspicious if I remain here. Last time this happened, there had been a serious accident with multiple casualties and they needed all the help they could get to stabilize the survivors."  
  
She left the Hardy's and joined several doctors and nurses in the elevator who were heading to the front desk to assist. "Does anyone know what's happened?" Nancy inquired.  
  
One young doctor shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't heard anything yet." The elevator came to a holt, and Nancy and the other staff members rushed over to where a large number of people were standing.  
  
Nancy walked caught sight of a familiar person in the crowd, Dr. Phillips, the doctor that had assisted Joe earlier on. "What's happened?" she asked him.  
  
Dr. Phillips turned to face her. "Well, it doesn't appear that anything has happened," he replied with a concerned expression. "There was no incident."  
  
"What do you mean? Who raised the alarm then?" Nancy questioned. "My understanding is that for this procedure to take place, someone has to activate the silent emergency alarm by using their staff identification card, and the message is then passed on to the staff at the front desk who initiate the call over the PA system for available doctors."  
  
Dr. Phillips nodded, and strained to read her name tag. "That's correct, uh Mandy, that is our standard procedure here."  
  
"So if we find out whose card was used, we can see who was behind the initial alarm and find out what the reason was for all this." Nancy mused.  
  
"Exactly, but that won't be necessary. As you are aware, I am the head of this department, and it is my duty to ensure that everything runs smoothly, other wise it reflects poorly on myself. So I took the liberty of checking our computer system and tracing the card that was used activate the alarm." Dr. Phillips replied.  
  
Nancy waited for him to continue, but he remained pensive. "So who's card was it?" she inquired.  
  
Dr. Phillips sighed and looked up at Nancy. "Mine," he answered. "But I never made that call."  
  
"Do you still have your card?" Nancy was shocked at the revelation Dr. Phillips had made. Suddenly Dr. Phillips became agitated. "You certainly ask a lot of questions for someone that is only new here, and for someone that has very little experience," he said suspiciously.  
  
Oh God, Nancy thought to herself. He thinks I had something to do with it. She smoother her hair back with one hand and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry if I seemed rude to you, or asked to many questions. It's just that this is something a little out of the ordinary that you don't come across every day." She covered.  
  
Dr. Phillips visibly relaxed when he heard this. "I'm sorry, I'm just under a lot of pressure at the moment." He admitted. "I'm sure you would have heard that there have been a few incidents around here lately. The strange thing is, no one has a clue what is going on, or who is responsible for them, but they all seem to be happening in my department!"  
  
This was news to Nancy. She hadn't realized that all the incidents had been occurring in the accident and emergency department, she had figured that they had been across all departments of the hospital. To her, Dr. Phillips seemed genuinely upset and puzzled over the incidents, but she wasn't sure she could trust him yet. He could well be the person responsible, and she didn't want him to know she was investigating.  
  
"To answer your question from before, I still have my card on me which is why I can't understand how anyone else could have used it to activate the alarm." Dr. Phillips continued. He sighed again, and glanced at his watch. "I have to get going now, I'm due in surgery in ten minutes." He excused himself, and then dashed down the hallway.  
  
Nancy pulled the small notebook from her pocket and jotted down the events of the day and the information Dr. Phillips had given her. She was going to have to have a talk with the Hardy's about this to see what they thought.  
  
AN - Sorry this was a short chapter, I just wanted to keep the story updated regularly for those reading. I hate it when people take ages to update, and I figured that something was better than nothing! I have a few exams at the moment, so please be patient! Please also R&R and give me some feedback, it would make my day! 


	4. Chapter Four

As Nancy walked back to Joe's room, she noticed a large group of people standing off to one side of the room, taking notes as well. Wondering what they were doing, Nancy edged over to them, and pretended to also be writing something down to avoid suspicion.  
  
A doctor that was unfamiliar to Nancy was speaking, and ten others stood around him listening intently to what he was saying.  
  
"So if this occurs as we have just seen, all available nurses and doctors are requested to attend the scene of the emergency, provided that they are not already attending to a patient in critical need of care. If you do happen to be working with a patient, ignore the call and continue with your work. The patient is your first priority in that case," the man explained, and several of the people with him and jotted more notes down.  
  
Nancy squinted and read his name badge. Dr Jason Harvey - Head of Intern Training. Suddenly she was interrupted by a voice. "You don't look familiar to me, are you here for training?" Dr. Harvey had noticed her writing, and he gave her a warm smile.  
  
"No I'm actually just looking for room 103," Nancy replied, thinking fast.  
  
"I didn't think you were one of my interns,' Dr. Harvey replied. "If you go down the hall, and turn right, and take the second left, you'll find room 103. It's easy to get lost here if you aren't used to it. Are you one of Dr. Ling's interns?"  
  
"Yes, I am," Nancy fibbed. "I'm actually just doing some work experience, I'm still studying at the moment." She gave him a smile back. "Looks like I could do with some studying of the hospital layout as well!" she joked.  
  
He laughed. "I'm sure you'll be fine after some practice. Nice meeting you, but I must get back to my students now and continue their training."  
  
Nancy said goodbye, and headed down the hall in the direction of room 103. When she was out of site, she ducked around a corner and into a nearby lift. She pulled out her notebook and made a note of Dr. Harvey's name and position, just in case she needed it in the future, and so she could mention it to the Hardy's. Nancy pressed room 459, and headed up to Joe's room.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Meanwhile, Frank and Joe listened from Joe's room to the commotion that was occurring at the nurse's station. For the last fifteen minutes or so, a woman had been screaming and demanding to speak to the head of surgery.  
  
"I'm sorry, she's unavailable to speak to you at the moment," they heard a nurse reply.  
  
"The doctors here are always unavailable!" the woman yelled. "If they had been available and competent, my daughter would still be here today." Her voice cracked, and she started to cry.  
  
"Well, I presume that is Sue Collins, suspect number one." Frank remarked quietly to Joe.  
  
"Sounds like it,' Joe replied. "To be honest, I really don't think she is the one we are after. I think she is just having a hard time dealing with her grief and looking for someone to blame."  
  
Frank thought about this. "You could be right, it was only recently her daughter passed away, and she hasn't had time to come to terms with it. Particularly if she thinks the doctors were negligent."  
  
As Sue Collins sobbed, a male voice spoke quietly to her. Frank walked over to the door of the room, and noticed a security guard with her. He said something else to her, and Sue nodded and followed him from the room. Glancing over her shoulder to the nurses, she uttered a few final words. "I told you that you would be sorry for this - and now you are finally beginning to realize how serious I was!"  
  
Frank turned back to Joe, who had a grim look on his face. "Are you completely sure she doesn't need further investigation?"  
  
"Maybe a little more," Joe admitted wryly.  
  
There was a knock on the door, and Nancy walked in. "Sorry I was gone so long guys." She explained everything to them about the false alarm and Dr. Phillips's card being used to activate the alarm.  
  
"But how could it be anyone other than him, if he is the only one with access to his card, and he hadn't lost it?" Frank asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," Joe replied. "But if it was him, don't you think that he would have at least had some sort of story about losing his card or having it stolen to cover his tracks?"  
  
"That would make sense," Nancy mused. "But at the moment, nothing in this case makes sense."  
  
"Oh, we almost forgot to tell you about what happened up here while you were gone," Frank said, and then told her about Sue Collins and what she had said as she left.  
  
Nancy frowned. "Great, this just complicates things further. If Sue is behind all this, how did she access Dr. Phillips's card? And further more, does she have the medical background to pull of these incidents?"  
  
"We don't know," Joe said as he yawned. "Do you guys mind if we take a break and talk about this tomorrow?" I'm starting to feel a little out of it from the pills."  
  
Frank nodded. "Sure, I think we need to have a think about what we want to do tomorrow anyway." He touched Joe's arm. "Are you going to be ok? I was actually really surprised you took those, I know you don't like taking medication very much."  
  
"I don't," Joe replied. "But my leg was throbbing badly and I needed something to take the edge of that." He looked up at Nancy. "You're finished your shift now, aren't you?"  
  
She nodded. "You guys should go out for dinner or something and catch up and relax. Maybe talk a little about the case." Joe suggested.  
  
Frank looked at Nancy and raised an eyebrow. "Did you have any plans for tonight?"  
  
"Not really," she answered. "Sounds like a good idea though, and I know a nice place near here."  
  
"Ok, we'll I'll pick you up at about 8:00pm?" Frank offered.  
  
"Sure," Nancy said, as she gave him the directions to where she was staying. "I'm going to get going and take a shower and get changed now, so I'll see you then." She gave Joe a hug. "I hope you feel better tomorrow."  
  
"Thanks Nan, I hope you have a nice night tonight," he murmured.  
  
"Bye Frank, I'll see you later." Nancy gave him a smile and waved as she left.  
  
Frank turned to Joe. "That was pretty smooth."  
  
Joe opened his eyes and gave his brother a grin. "You're welcome."  
  
"Well, I'm going to go now too, as long as you're ok." Frank said.  
  
"I'm sure I will be," Joe answered, as he smelt food wafting down the hall. "I'll see you in the morning sometime and we'll decide what to do from then."  
  
Frank said goodbye to his brother and headed out the door, not noticing the figure hiding behind the door, who had heard every word of their conversation, and everything Nancy had said to them. "So they were the ones hired to investigate," the figure thought to themselves. "They might be for now, but they won't be for much longer if I have my way."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Thanks for reviewing everyone. To answer a couple of questions:  
  
GENA - this story for now is strictly mystery, there may or may not be some romance in upcoming chapters. The potential is there, but we shall see how things unfold! CUTIEPIE - there will be some more action coming up in the next few chapters in regards to the main characters, now that the person behind all this knows they are investigating. KATIE JANEWAY - That was a good point you made, but in the first chapter, I mentioned that Nancy was only a student nurse, and if you notice, she never really has had to do anything yet that requires expert knowledge. That's how she is getting away with faking it. TO EVERYONE ELSE - thank you for your support, and please continue to review so I know people are still reading and hopefully enjoying this! 


	5. Chapter Five

Nancy finished putting the finishing touches on her hair and make up, and scrutinized her reflection in the mirror. She wore a black halter neck dress that skimmed her curves and fell elegantly to her knees. Nancy raised an eyebrow at her reflection and wondered why she had spent so much time getting ready for dinner tonight. She wasn't trying to impress Frank, was she?  
  
Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her purse just as there was a knock on her hotel room door. "I'm coming," she called out, as she picked up her cell phone and placed it in her bag.  
  
She opened the door, and Frank stood there with a smile on his face. "Hi Nan, you look great!" he exclaimed, as he gave her a peck on the cheek.  
  
Nancy coloured slightly. "Thanks, you look great too," she replied truthfully as she took in his appearance. Frank was wearing a pair of black pants and a casual but sophisticated dress shirt. She shook her head slightly and tried to focus. Nancy smiled back at Frank. "So, where are we going to tonight?"  
  
"I was thinking we could maybe go to this little Thai place close by," Frank answered. "Joe and I saw it when we drove past the other day, and it is supposedly really nice."  
  
"Perfect, I love Thai!" Nancy said, as they headed out to Frank's car. Frank opened the door for Nancy and she climbed in. He couldn't help but notice again how nice she looked tonight.  
  
A short time later they arrived at the restaurant and were seated by a young Thai waitress. After looking at the menu, Nancy ordered a green curry with chicken, and Frank selected the red curry with beef.  
  
"I feel kind of bad enjoying myself here and knowing that Joe is so uncomfortable at the moment," Frank confessed to Nancy as the waitress brought their meals out.  
  
Nancy nodded, as she tasted her curry. It was delicious. "So do I, but at the same time, he's probably sleeping and enjoying the rest which is the best thing for him at the moment."  
  
"What time is your shift tomorrow?" Frank inquired.  
  
"I start at 10:00am, I have the middle of the day shift. I just hope nothing else goes wrong, but I have a feeling that we haven't seen the worst yet." She replied.  
  
Frank frowned. "I hope Joe is going to be ok there tonight."  
  
"I'm sure he will be, there is no reason for anyone to target him, and besides, no one knows that we are investigating this case." Nancy said.  
  
Frank relaxed a little. "That's true, I guess I am just paranoid. You know what it is like for us, we seem to attract trouble wherever we go! This was meant to be our vacation, and now we are tracking down a saboteur."  
  
Nancy laughed. "I know exactly what you mean. Can you remember a time where I actually had a proper vacation myself?!"  
  
Frank laughed too, and replied that he couldn't remember such a time. He was having a really nice evening tonight, and he was surprised. At first he was going to kill Joe for suggesting he and Nancy go to dinner, he thought that it may be a little awkward since they hadn't seen each other in so long. "Liar," he thought to himself. "The real reason isn't that at all, you were just nervous about being around Nancy since you have always been attracted to her."  
  
Nancy noticed Frank's face redden slightly. "Are you ok?"  
  
Frank snapped back into reality. "Ahh, yeah. I'm fine thanks. This curry is just a little hot," he fibbed. "So anyway_"  
  
They chatted together for ages afterwards, catching up on all that they had been up to since they last saw each other. Suddenly Nancy caught sight of time. "Wow, it's just after midnight, I didn't realize it was so late!"  
  
"I guess I had better get you home then," Frank answered, not really wanting the night to end.  
  
Nancy stood up and picked up her purse while Frank paid the bill. "I'm sorry, it's just that I have to start early tomorrow," she explained. She hadn't wanted the night to end either.  
  
"Hey, don't be sorry!" Frank said. "We need to be sharp in order to catch this saboteur. Besides, I had a great time tonight."  
  
"Me too," Nancy replied as they reached the car and got in. Soon after, Frank arrived back at Nancy's hotel and pulled to a stop.  
  
"I'll walk you up, just in case," he joked.  
  
Nancy smiled. "Thanks."  
  
They reached her room, and Nancy opened the door with her key. "I did have a really nice time tonight, thanks again." She paused slightly. "Do you want to come in for a while?" "I better not, you need to get some sleep." Frank replied, feeling a little disappointed.  
  
"Ok, we'll I guess I will see you tomorrow morning." Nancy said, as she gave Frank a hug.  
  
As they pulled apart, Frank looked down at Nancy and leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. She seemed surprised, and Frank grinned.  
  
"See you tomorrow Nan."  
  
Nancy closed the door behind her and locked it, thinking about what had just happened between her and Frank. She was still thinking about it when she went to sleep shortly after.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Meanwhile, as Joe slept peacefully in his room, Jenna, the nurse, came in and checked to make sure he was ok and not in any pain. Checking his chart and realizing that he would probably need more painkillers if he woke up, she left two tablets and a glass of water on his bedside table.  
  
She checked his temperature, and satisfied that he was ok, she left the room to continue her rounds. Shortly after, a figure crept into Joe's room and deftly swapped the two tablets Jenna had left with tablets of a different kind altogether. 


End file.
